Hot beverage processing machine



Jan. 19, 1965 w. DANZIGER ETAL 3,166,002

HOT BEVERAGE PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l WIN Jan. 19, 1965 w. DANZIGER ETAL 3,166,002

HOT BEVERAGE PROCESSING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIZ : l llrlllfll United States Patent 3,166,002 HOT BEVERAGE PROCESSING MACHINE William Danziger, Malverne, Charles D. Rush, Stony Brook, and Joseph Gold, Old Bethpage, N.Y., assignors to Continental Vending Machine Corp., Westhury,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Original application Dec. 2, 1957, Ser. No. 700,005, new

Patent No. 3,045,870, dated July 24, 1962. Divided and this application July 2, 1962, Ser. No. 206,706

4 (Ilaims. (Cl. 99-289) The present invention relates to hot beverage processing apparatus, particularly for use in acoin-operated vending machine oithe type which dispenses coflee, tea, hot chocolate, soup and other hot beverages.

This application is a division of our co-pending patent application Serial No. 700,005, filed December 2, 1957, now Patent No. 3,045,870.

To assure that there always is fresh coffee available, the dispensing machine should include an automatic brew unitarranged to produce a relatively small amount, of coffee at frequent intervals in accordance with the demand. To prevent leakage and faulty operation, the interior of this unit should be tightly sealed from atmosphere during the brewing operation. However, because the brew unit must be cleaned and then recharged with granular colfee between each brewing operation, means'must be provided for obtaining access to the interior of the unit, and these means advantageously should be operable in a simple manner by the usual automatic timing mechanism. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, this problem is solved by a unique closure and sealing arrangement which is economical to manufacture and reliable in operation.

It is an object of this invention to provide a coffee dispensing machine having a coffee brew unit that is simple in construction and especially adapted for troublefree operation over a long period of time.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be pointed out in, and inv part apparent from, the following description considered together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a detailed view showing the elements of the cofiee brewing equipment herein described and claimed;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section View taken along line than the tube diameter so that the washer forms a resilient lip 114 extending inwardly around the entireperiphery of the open end of the tube, as indicated in dashed outline in FIGURE 3.

Movable into and out of the openend of this tube 106 is a top closure plate 116 which is circular and has a diameter larger than the aperture formed by the Washer. Thus, when the closure plate is moved downwardly into the tube end as shown in FIGURE 2, it deforms the washer lip 114 towards the interior of the tube to provide a pressure-resistant, liquid-tight seal. A special advantage of this arrangement is that it does not require close mechanical tolerances; that is, normal variations in lateral or vertical positioning of the closure plate do not have any important effect on the quality of the seal.

The lower end of the tube 106 rests on an interior shoulder 118 forming part of a cylindrical base member 120, so that the tube is readily removable from this base member for cleaning or repair. A second rubber washer 122 is secured to the bottom of the base 120 by means of another clampingring 124, and this latter washer serves to form a liquid-tight seal (as described above 22 of FIGURE 1, showing the interior of the: coflee brew unit;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the closure seal for the coffee brew unit;

FIGURE 4 is a detail section taken along'line 44 of FIGURE 2, showing the upper end of the hot water spray pipe;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1, showing particularly the thermostatic sensing element for maintaining the colfeein the storage tank at a constantitemperature.

Referring now to the details of the invention as disclosed in the drawing, the fresh liquid coffee to be dispensed is stored'in a coffee storage tank 102 having a capacity of 24 cups. 7 When the coffee in this tank drops to' a level where only 12 cups remain, an automatic brewing cycle is initiated by the usual means, not shown, to brew an'addltional 12 cupsof fresh colfeeand to transfer this coffee to thestorage tank. This coffee is produced in a cofiee brew unit 104 now to be described. Referring now to FIGURES 1 through 4, the brew unit 104 comprises a tank in the form of a cylindrical tube 106 having an external flange 108 secured to its upper end. Seated on this flange is a flexible rubber washer 110 held in place by a clamp ring 112 screwed to the flange. The inner diameter of the washer is smaller with reference to the first washer with a bottom closure plate 126.

The top closure plate 116 is moved relative to the tube 106 by'a pivoted arm 128 (FIGURE 1) which is actuated by a link 1330 pinned eccentrically to a disc 132. This disc is rotated by a shaft 134 the drive motor for which is controlled by the usual brew-cycle timer (not shown). The bottom closure plate 126 is operated by a bell crank 136 which is actuated by another link 138 pinned eccentrically to a second disc 140; This latter disc'is rotated by a shaft 142 the drive motor for which also is controlled by the brew-cycle timer.

At the start of a brewing cycle, the top of the brew unit 104 is opened and a fixed quantity (ordinarily onequarter pound) of granular coliee is dropped into the tube 106 by a coffee chute 144 extending down from a coffee hopper 146. (For this purpose, the coiiee hopper is provided with a slotted disc 147.) The top closure'plate 116 then is moved down into seal position and (referring again to FIGURE 2) hot water is fed into the interior of the brew unit through a curved spray pipe 148 which is formed at its upper end with perforations 150 to direct the hot water onto all portions of the granular cofiee charge. '1 p The lower end ofthis spray pipe 148 is integrally secured to thewall of the tube 106, and communicates through an aperture in this wall with an annular water inlet groove 152 formed'in the base 120. This groove in turn is connected by a pipe to a hot water" supply tank 156 which maintains a supply of Water at a temperature of about 200 F. and a pressure of about 15 psi. A valve 158 in this latter pipe is controlled by the brewcycle timer so as to cause hot water to flow into the brew unit 104 for a predetermined time (normally about 2 minutes) at a rate sufiicient to provide 12 cups of coffee during this period. i

While the hot water is entering the brew 'unit 104,

the pressure in the tube 106 (normally aboutS psi.) is

sufficient to produce a substantial force tending to move the closure plates 116 and 126 away from the tube. However, the closure plates are positively. held in. place by the links 130 and 138 which are aligned with the axes of the corresponding shafts 134 and 142 so as to provide the required reactive force without any need, for

The liquid coffee produced by the incoming hot water is forced out of the brew unit 104 through screened apertures 160 formed in the wall of the tube 106. These aper tures communicate with an annular coffee outlet groove 162 formed in the base 120 immediately beneath the inlet groove 152, the two grooves being sealed by three nected to said base'member and operable to seal the top and bottom ends of said tube,. a flexible washer secured to said tube around the top end thereof to cooperate with said first closure means for sealing said tube, a spray pipe within said tube for spraying hot water onto granular coffee therein, said spray pipe being attached to the wall of said tube to permit said tube and said spray pipeto be remoed from said base member as a unit, the wall f of said tube being apertured'at the point of attachment to position said tube relative to the base 120, said positioning being angular, that is, about the longitudinal axis of tube 106. Thus, the tube and spray pipe 148 maybe removed for cleaning and then replaced in a short time without difficulty.

After the required amount of coffee has been brewed and passed to the storage tank 102, the bottom closure plate 126 is moved downwards and away (as shown in dashed outline in FIGURE 1) to permit the used coffee grounds to drop into a waste container 1&8 immediately beneath. At the same time, the brew-cycle timer actuates another valve (not shown) in the hot water pipe 154 leading to the brew unit spray pipe 148 so as to direct a heavy stream of'hot water into the tube for several seconds and thus flush out any remaining coffee particles. Subsequently, the bottom closure plate is returned to its sealposition and the brew unit 104 is ready for another brewing operation when required.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 4, the coffee storage tank 102 is mounted on 'a pedestal 258 which is permanently secured to the cabinet of the machine. Thus, the

tank may readily be removed from the cabinet for clean a ing and servicing. The coffee in the tank is heated bya conventional electrical heating unit (not shown) in the pedestal. The rear and right-hand side (referring to FIGURE 1) of the tank 102 abut a semi-cylindrical sup: port wall 260 which conforms to the contours of the tank and is fixedly secured to the pedestal.

The temperature of the coffee in the tank 102 is maintained constant by thermostatic control of the electrical current supplied to the heating unit in the pedestal 258. For this purpose, there is secured to the support wall 260 a U-shaped thermal insulation shield 262 carrying an ad justable temperature-sensitive lei-metallic element 264 of usual construction This element is connected in'th'e electrical circuit which energizes the pedestal heating unit, and'operates to turn this unit off and .on in response to of said spray pipe thereto to allow the flow of water into said spray pipe, and conduit means forming a part of said base member and communicating with the aperture in said tube wall for feeding hot water into said spray pipe.

2. In a coffee dispensing machine, apparatus for brewing the coffee comprising, in combination, a cylindrical tube open at both ends to permit the passage of coffee components into and out of said tube, first and second cirfor shifting said closure plates into said tube ends with the planes of said plates perpendicular to the-tube axis,

and first and second washers of flexible material positioned at the ends of said tube and coaxially therewith, the inner diameters of said washersbeing slightly smaller than the diameters of said closure plates whereby the insertion changesin the coffee temperature as represented by the heat radiated or conducted to the element 264 from the exposed side 103 of the storage tank 102. It hasbeen found that thistemperature control arrangement very effectively maintainsthe coffee temperature constant, and

isparticularly advantageous inthat it permits the coffee of said plates into the ends of said tube deforms said washers towards the interior of said tube to provide liquid said bore and having an opening at one end thereof for the passage of coffee components intorsaid tube, closure means operable to seal said one tube end during a brewing operation, the wall of said tube being formed with a first aperture for the flow of hot water into said tube and a second aperture for the flow of liquid coffee out of said tube, said base member being provided with first and second annular grooves extending around said bore Y and communicating with said apertures respectively, conduit means for supplying hot water to said first annular groove, andoutlet means for carrying liquid coffee from said second annular groove.-

4. In a coffee dispensing machine, apparatus for brewing the coffee comprising,-in combination, means for sealing oneend of said tube, a rigid closure plate insertable intothe other end of a said tube, said closure plate being slightly smaller than said tube, a thinlip of flexible material protruding laterally into the opening at said other end of said tube and around the entire periphery thereof 7 to form an aperture slightly smaller than said closure plate been set forth in detail, it is desired to emphasize. that this is not intended to be exhaustive or necessarily limitative; on the contrary, the showing herein is for the purpose of illustrating the invention and thus toenable others skilledin the art to adapt the invention in such ways as meet the requirements of particular applications, it being understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as limited by the prior art. a 'What is claimed is: I a 1. In a coffee dispensing machine, apparatus for brewing coffee comprising, in combination, a base member having a yertical cylindrical bore therein, a cylindrical tube positioned in said bore andsupported by said base member, first and second movable closure means conso that the insertion of said plate into said opening deforms said'lip towards the interior of said tube to provide a liquid-tight seal, a linkfor shifting said closure plate into and out of said tube, and a drive shaft for operating said link, said link being pivotally secured to said shaft at an eccentric point and arranged to be alignedwith the.

axis of said shaft when said closure plate is seated in posltlon in said tube, whereby said link positively locks said closure plate in position during a brewing operation;

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,593,712 1 Wells 1.--; Apr. 22, 1952 2,895,402 Totten July 21, 1959 2,907,266 'Moulden -1 Oct; 6, 1959 2,971,672 Price Feb. 14, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 578,062 Great Britain June 13, 1946 

2. IN A COFFEE DISPENSING MACHINE, APPARATUS FOR BREWIN THE COFFEE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CYLINDRICAL TUBE OPEN AT BOTH ENDS TO PERMIT THE PASSAGE OF COFFEE COMPONENTS INTO AND OUT OF SAID TUBE, FIRST AND SECOND CIRCULAR CLOSURE PLATES INSERTABLE INTO SAID TUBE ENDS, THE DIAMETERS OF SAID PLATES BEING SLIDABLY SMALLER THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID TUBE, MEANS EXTERNAL OF SAID TUBE FOR SHIFTING SAID CLOSURE PLATES INTO SAID TUBE ENDS WITH THE PLANES OF SAID PLATES PERPENDICULAR TO THE TUBE AXIS, AND FIRST AND SECOND WASHERS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL POSITIONED AT THE ENDS OF SAID TUBE AND COAXIALLY THEREWITH, THE INNER 